Reaching Out

Posted on 14 Oct 2012 @ 10:51pm by Chief Warrant Officer 4 Cyrus Kiwosk
Edited on on 24 Oct 2012 @ 11:54am

1,928 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 02 - Resupply
Location: USS Galileo: Mess Hall
Timeline: MD3 1000 HRS

ON:

As Cyrus left his quarters he passed through the series of halls and corridors before realizing he had gotten himself quite lost on his way to the Security Department. It was only then that he realized that he was holding a PADD. As he made his way down the hall, he brought up the map of the ship. Apparently he was near the mess hall, which Cyrus suddenly felt was acceptable for his current train of thought.

His stomach growled in agreement.

He continued on his new destination, his eyes fixed upon the small peice of plastic, metal and LED lights. When he collided head first into a a purple striped officer..

There wasn't an arched eyebrow, nor any acknowledgment of surprise or hesitant dryness that had become customary of many Vulcans in Starfleet to compensate for their lack of warmth. Lieutenant Liyar merely stood over the Chief Warrant Officer who had ostensibly knocked into him with a completely empty look on his face, unnerving even on a Vulcan. Rather than offer an apology, the diplomatic officer swept his cold gaze once over the other man, before landing on the PADD which had fallen loose onto the deck. He retrieved it, and held it out to him silently.

Grunting Cyrus stood up and grabbed the duffel bag that had fallen loose and reached over to take the PADD back. "Thanks, man. Sorry about that. My gut was talking more than my head." Cyrus chuckled and looked into the emptiness that was the vulcan stereotypical expression. This Vulcan in particular looked especially grumpy. Which the heavy muscled marine could understand.

"Vulcan eh...and it looks like the diplomatic corp to boot. The name's Cyrus, I'm the new CWO in the Security Department." He extended his free hand to shake the vulcans'.

Liyar took all of this in stride with the relative composure of a rock statue, and stared at the hand without taking it.

"Well, I would assume that this is the part where I would explain I'm heading to the Mess hall to grab a bite before the rest of my standard interviews. Quite frankly, you're the only person I've bumped into, literally, that is not trying to repair the ship....aaaand I'm hungry, so you wanna come along?"

Liyar's first answer was undoubtedly no. But the words of Admiral T'Zeia floated through the back of his mind as she handed him his orders. The humans will want to reach out to you. It is logical to allow this to proceed, in a minor capacity. You will learn more about them, which will aid you in judging their character. This is important in a Federation military setting.

Looking down at this Cyrus, Liyar suppressed what might have been an irritated look, and his features remained clear as ever. He had zero desire to dine with this human. He no doubt would talk too much, and expect his participation in turn. Rarely did humans observe traditional silence during meals. He set aside his own reticence and nodded once. "It would be logical to accompany you."

Cyrus laughed. "Logical eh? Is that the Vulcan way of saying 'no, but you are going to come anyways?" He chuckled some more. "You don't have to if you don't want to. I simply figured it would be nice to get to know someone on the ship."

Interesting. Most humans rarely paid attention to the implied meaning of his words. "You are correct. I do not wish to." Liyar clearly had no compunctions clearing that up. "It is reasonable to entertain your request. It is part of a human attempt to," he hesitated a little, "Bond. I am told this is an important aspect of Starfleet structure."

"Yeah I suppose it would be. Tell you what...you engage me in a bit of small talk over the meal...and I won't ramble on like I'm talking to myself while you eat in silence. I won't try to bore you too much!"

The security officer's stomach rumbled loudly and he couldn't help but laugh. "Well come on then. What's your name anyways?"

As with all interactions, the Vulcan man just looked calmly back, meeting Cyrus's eyes. Unlike the majority of humans he met, it was Vulcan custom to make eye contact when talking. This seemed to perturb most on Earth, but it was natural to him. It gave him the impression of listening intently. He straightened imperceptibly, before following along after him. "I am Liyar." It became readily apparent after a short period of time that Liyar was not at all good at small talk. "What is your assignment."

"Well Liyar, my name is Cyrus, thanks for asking." He replied not missing a beat.

"I am aware. You informed me of this three minutes and forty seven seconds ago," Liyar reminded the man.

"As for my assignment, are you referring to my previous assignment, or my currant one here on the Galileo?" He looked at Liyar matching him stare for stare. "Well my currant assignment here is as just as Security and Tactical; however, my previous posting had me as in the Starfleet Marine Corp." Cyrus had gathered Liyar was Diplomatic from the purple on his uniform, but decided if he was going to get any information out of the vulcan he would be the one to ask first. "What about you? I know you're part of the Diplomatic Corp, but on a science ship, is that common?"

Clasping his hands behind him, Liyar ducked through the turbolift doors onto the main deck. "The Galileo is tasked with exploration. This undoubtedly includes foreign civilizations. I am the only diplomatic officer on board. Your change in assignment is stark." Without emotional inflection, the observations sounded odd.

"Thanks? I think." He paused to consider the vulcan's statements, but decided to go a long with it. It wasn't long before they came across the mess. There were a few people inside, but it seemed a relatively slow day. Most of the personnel looked tired and more than a few had grim looks on their face.

"Whatever happened really hit them hard. They've lost people, more than a few by the looks of it. " He said, low enough for Liyar to hear.

Liyar stilled for a moment as they entered the room, only long enough to blink. He was unprepared for the sensation inside. He had to adjust his shields considerably to stem the flux of grief and shell shock which tapped at his perception. "You believe they are emotionally compromised." It was delivered in the same flat voice as ever. Whatever he'd stopped for, he'd gotten over it.

The ex-marine shook his head. "No I don't think they are emotionally comprimised in a literal sense. I've just seen the look of people who have lost friends on a hard mission." He looked over at the vulcan and heaved a sigh, his broad shoulders moving with the breathe. "Been there, it's not a fun place. " He picked out a table off to the right of the room, it had four chairs, but Cyrus simply picked one and moved himself in.

"Have you heard anything about happened during the last mission? From all looks it seems to be that they didn't have a good go of it." He had worked with Vulcans enough to know that the flatness in their voice and lack of intonation didn't mean they didn't feel the same way humans did, so Cyrus didn't pay as much attention to the detail as most other humans. It was a way of culture for them.

"I was not apprised. I do not possess the security clearance," he explained to Cyrus. He watched intently, as he had the entire time, and observed Cyrus's reactions without commenting on them. "I assume you desire to procure first meal." He noted Cyrus's lack of food with a brief look at the empty table in front of them. He remained standing. "I will obtain it. What do you normally consume."

Cyrus thought it over and decided to stand up himself. "I'll come up with you. I don't think you'd be able to balance everything I'm going to eat this morning. I appreciate it though. He gave the man a hearty thump on the back and grinned. "Let's go eat eh?"

Liyar blinked at the contact, and followed him toward the replicators.

Sure enough to his word Cyrus started plating a mountain. Eggs, bacon heaped in a pile, a pancake and a waffle, ham, hashbrowns and the list went on. Two full plates of food, a cup of coffee, a cup of water and a cup of juice were all set on his tray. Grinning with avid hunger he fought hard not to begin eating until after they returned to their seats.

The Vulcan didn't seem nearly as predisposed as Cyrus, and his tray only held one plate on which a sizable helping of nirha rested. It looked a little like rice, except for the fact that it was bright green. He picked up a pair of chopsticks and ate calmly, an immediate contrast to his companion's voracious appetite. The only interesting thing about it was the fact that he'd opted to drink orange juice rather than some convoluted Vulcan beverage.

Cyrus was too hungry to talk. He attacked his plate and shoveled the food into his mouth with a savagery viewed only in movies. Eggs vanished completely, the mountain of bacon and hashbrowns dissolved, Waffle and pancake were reduced to crumbs.

He took a big swig of coffee and grinned, dabbing his face with a napkin. "So are you originally from Vulcan ?" He needed a break before finishing up his feast.

Liyar didn't reply, instead choosing to finish his meal as well. He set the chopsticks over the plate when he was done and folded his hands. He watched as Cyrus consumed yet another over-sized waffle, wondering how it was possible for humans to eat so much. "I am," he confirmed.

He nodded in confirmation as he finished off the second waffle and sighed contently. "Good to know. Well I do thank you for having brunch with me, even though you didn't want to. The sentiment is appreciated." He chuckled once more and took another large gulp of coffee. He waited as the vulcan finished up his meal patiently.

"Thanks are illogical," Liyar responded predictably. He stood up after he had drained the remainder of his orange juice, lifting his tray alongside him. "Had I chosen otherwise, we would not be here," he reminded him.

"Well I would be here regardless. Cyrus replied. He stood up with his tray and walked over to the disposal unit. "I'll see you around Liyar. Nice talking to you! " Cyrus found the whole event sort of amusing. The vulcan seemed like a nice enough fellow...just needed to adjust to being on the ship. He would. "Anyways, I do believe I have my physical with the doctor in the next hour or so, I have to make that I'm ready. Have a good day!" He called, taking a quick walk out of the mess, waving a hand in a lack luster salute as he left the room.

Impassively, Liyar dumped the contents of his tray into the disposal, unaffected by the entire thing.

OFF:

JP between

Chief Warrant Officer Kiwosk
Security/Tactical Officer
+
Lieutenant (JG) Liyar
Diplomatic Officer, SDD/VDF
USS Galileo

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